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Nourishing Relationships

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       How to Inventory Your Assets for 2007

Have you ever noticed how, at this time of year, there are lists 
and lists circulating? You can find a list of the 20 best films of 2006, 
the 10 worst dressed people, the 50 most interesting books. In addition 
to spending some of your spare time reading through these lists, 
how about taking some personal time to create your own list - of your 
10 most important assets?  It may seem unusual for you, a member of the 
Sandwich Generation, to concentrate on yourself instead of on the needs 
of the family around you, but allow yourself to focus on and embrace 
your own development at this pivotal time. 

Creating your asset inventory will give you a leg up on beginning 2007
from a position of power, but how do you begin? To help you, here's a short
new list for the end of 2006, one to help you focus on your assets - not the 
financial ones but the personal strengths you own. Use this process 
to discover some of your hidden passions. Reflect on your answers or 
discuss them with a trusted friend as you create an expanded sense of yourself.  

1.  Writing your thoughts in a journal will help you clarify your 
thoughts and feelings as you look at all aspects of your life.  
As you begin to make an inventory of your assets, include what you 
have done and the value you have created in the past - as student, 
family member, career associate, community volunteer, friend.

2.  Identify your strengths. What are some of your natural talents?  
What comes so easily you often don't notice it?  How about the acquired 
skills you have used successfully? Think about what you consider 
to be your greatest personal strengths. These could encompass, among others, 
attributes as diverse as a love of learning, a sense of humor, 
loyalty, an appreciation of beauty, the ability to love and be loved. 

3.  Consider how others view you and your contributions. Who uses
you as a role model and why?  What in your life experience has led you 
to wisdom? Honor this insight and find ways to share what you 
already know well - mentor students learning to read, become a Big Sister, 
coach a basketball team at the youth center.

4.  Engage in an active process of getting to know your true self 
and what you want to do. What nurtures your creative thinking? 
What stimulates your curiosity? What do you really value and care about? 
What are your dreams and passions?  What do you imagine is your life purpose now?

5.  How would you like to share your "assets" with others? Your expertise 
can be directed to giving back in a larger sense, to those in need, 
to the next generation, to the community, country, world. Begin to 
practice small acts of kindness - let the harried mother go ahead
of you in the grocery line, give up the parking space to the elderly
gentleman, smile at the sales clerk who looks like she's having a bad day.

6.  Just as you calculate liabilities as well as assets when determining
your financial net worth, you can look at the areas which you would like
to enhance in your personal life. This provides a focus for your action
s toward self-improvement in 2007.   

After you identify your strengths and the direction you want to take, 
develop and follow a concrete plan of action. As the writer George 
Eliot said, "It's never too late to be what you might have been." Establish
short-term objectives that will move you, step by step, toward the 
long-term goals you have set for yourself. Discover and create your personal
vision for 2007 using your asset inventory.  

© www.HerMentorCenter.com, 2006


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(c) HerMentorCenter, 2006.  All rights reserved.  The above
material may not be copied to another web site without the
express permission of HerMentorCenter.com.   
  
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